


Wingwoman

by Burgie



Series: WillowxAlex AU [12]
Category: Star Stable Online
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-16
Updated: 2018-04-16
Packaged: 2019-04-23 18:04:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,145
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14338077
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Burgie/pseuds/Burgie
Summary: Freja takes Willow into Jorvik City for her birthday, with a special guest. Willow belongs to willownorthbook on tumblr and Freja belongs to frejaarchfield on tumblr.





	Wingwoman

Willow couldn’t help but smile as she rode her beloved dapple grey horse, Rebel, along the old, unmarked path along the Silversong river. Brownie, her appropriately-named fox, ran alongside her, yapping and barking at the various butterflies that flittered past. Willow smiled down at him fondly, enjoying his adorable hijinks. But then, suddenly, Brownie looked up, gave one particularly-happy yap, and darted ahead. Willow looked up and saw her friend, Freja, approaching on Jade, her own horse. Willow grinned, waving to her friend, who was already waving at her.

“Hey, Roo,” said Willow, slowing Rebel to a gentle stop in front of Jade. Freja grinned.

“I believe the saying is ‘hoo-roo,” said Freja. “Someone said that to me once and it works.”

“Okay,” said Willow with a laugh. “Hoo-roo, then.” Freja smiled.

“Fancy meeting you here,” said Freja. Willow snorted, rolling her eyes.

“Yes, how surprising that I’m going for a ride near my home,” said Willow. 

“Alright, you got me, I knew that you’d be here,” said Freja. “But I bet you don’t know what I’ve got planned for you.”

“I hope that it doesn’t involve too much public drunkenness,” said Willow. Freja gasped in mock-offence.

“I would never do that,” said Freja, feigning innocence. They both laughed while Brownie darted around the horses’ hooves and their horses nickered softly to one another, no doubt talking about how silly their riders were.

“But for real, should I be worried about what you’ve got planned?” asked Willow.

“Not this time,” said Freja. “Cross my heart.” She held her hands up as she said this, to make it clear that she wasn’t crossing her fingers behind her back. Willow smirked.

“Alright, I believe you,” said Willow. “Do I need to get changed or anything?”

“Get dressed in your best city clothes and meet me at Governor’s Fall,” said Freja. “I promise that you’ll like your surprise~” Willow laughed and turned Rebel around to ride back to Valedale, her heart skipping a beat at the thought of what Freja might have planned for her.

Getting dressed seemed to take twice as long when Willow didn’t know what to expect. She agonised over what shirt to wear, what jeans to wear, even what shoes to wear. Hat and gloves didn’t really matter, seeing as she was going into the city, but a nice cowgirl hat completed her look of blue jeans, black boots with fancy stitching, and a white t-shirt. She fiddled with her purple hair for a bit before deciding to just leave it brushed. And at last, she left the house, her palms already a little sweaty as she climbed into Rebel’s saddle and rode for the closer bus stop at Fort Pinta.

“Stay here, say hi to your friends,” said Willow, petting Rebel’s neck as she left him turned out in one of the paddocks at Fort Pinta. Rebel blew air out over his lips, probably his way of blowing her a kiss, and Willow smiled before running for the bus stop as the bus finally arrived.

One bus and tram trip later and Willow was in Jorvik City, stepping off of the tram in Governor’s Fall. It was nice and sunny, the sound of birdsong was beautiful, and there was one exceptionally-pretty girl sitting at one of the tables outside of Leonardo’s, her hand outstretched in an attempt to coax a bird onto it. For quite possibly the first time in her life, Alex Cloudmill looked like a Disney princess.

“Surprise!” said Freja, jumping out in front of Willow and giggling. 

“What’s she doing here?” Willow whispered, pointing to Alex.

“She’s your birthday present,” said Freja. Willow’s cheeks heated up, she hadn’t thought that Freja had been paying attention when Willow had mentioned off-hand that Alex looked really nice one day.

“Roo,” Willow complained, her heart racing now. She had to resist the urge to hide in one of the bushes, or one of the garbage bins.

“Only joking, we’re going to see a movie and Alex mentioned that she wanted to come,” said Freja. “I wanted to bring Linda and make it a double date but she’s bogged down in study at the moment.” She pulled a face.

“Oh hey, you’re here,” said Alex, the bird flying away as she stood from her spot at the table. “Good thing, too, the movie starts soon.”

“Sorry I took so long, I probably should’ve asked when the movie started when you suddenly sprung this on me,” said Willow, looking at Freja. Freja shrugged.

“In my defence, I forgot,” said Freja. Willow rolled her eyes with a scoff, trying not to notice how close to her Alex was as they made their way to the movie theatre. It was quite a walk, and Willow hoped that she wasn’t sweating too much or becoming too flustered. Alex walked on one side of her while Freja walked on the other side, chatting about all number of things, new horses and people she’d met and new bars that were opening.

“So, what’ve you been up to since our last grand adventure?” asked Alex, clearly tuning out Freja’s chatter.

“Um, not much,” said Willow, fighting the urge to fiddle with her hair. She glanced at Alex’s hair, wondering oddly if her blue and white hair was as soft as it looked. “Just training horses, working for the people of Jorvik, hanging out with friends. The usual.”

“Yeah, things get pretty boring when the world isn’t at stake,” said Alex. “Which probably isn’t a good thing, come to think of it. But at least it hasn’t been dull lately. Found any more Starbreeds?”

“No,” said Willow, glad that Alex had started the conversation and seemed to be steering it. “Did you get in much trouble after that stunt we pulled?”

“A little,” said Alex, waving her hand in a see-sawing motion. “I think Rhiannon might have some kind of influence over Elizabeth, though, because it was nowhere near as bad as I was expecting.”

“Especially considering you were expecting to be stripped of your powers,” said Willow. Alex blushed, rubbing her arm. 

“It sounds kind of stupid when you put it like that,” said Alex. “I guess I just… panicked.”

“Understandable,” said Willow, nodding. “Even if I kind of… liked the rebel you.” She smiled, blushing, and Alex got a faint hint of something in her eyes. It made Willow’s heart pound to see it.

“Alright, we’re here!” Freja called, interrupting their moment. When she saw the two of them shyly looking away from each other, she sighed. “I just ruined the moment, didn’t I?”

“Kind of, yeah,” said Alex as Willow nodded.

“Sorry,” said Freja. “But we are here, so we should quickly buy our tickets and popcorn and stuff before it’s too late.”

“Good idea, I’ll pay,” said Alex, joining the queue.

“Are you sure? I was going to, since I’m taking my friend out for her birthday,” said Freja.

“Oh, it’s your birthday? Roo didn’t tell me that,” said Alex, frowning slightly at Freja, who shrugged. “Happy birthday, Willow.” Willow blushed, her heart definitely pounding now.

“Th-thanks,” said Willow, ashamed to find that her tongue felt too thick in her mouth. Oh dear. That feeling of fondness was quickly becoming full-blown infatuation.

“And anyway, I could never afford to take my friends out when I was growing up, so I’m making up for it now,” said Alex. “So buy whatever you like, it’s all on me.”

“Sweet,” said Freja, grinning, and proceeded to order half the candy bar. Willow blushed when it came her turn to order, but managed to stammer out that she would like a bucket of popcorn (to share, Freja added) and a soda. Alex ordered nothing, which worried Willow slightly until Alex pointed out that Freja had bought enough for about twenty people. Freja looked rather proud of herself, though, and Willow knew that her friend would take all of the food as a challenge.

At last, the group of three walked into the dim cinema, where the smell of popcorn and stickiness became stronger as the air became cooler. Willow shivered slightly, rubbing her arms and suddenly wishing that she’d brought a jacket.

“Are you cold?” asked Alex, seeing this. “I’d give you my jacket, but uh… I’ve only got the tunic.” She tugged at it with a grin, and Willow laughed and smiled.

“Thanks but I should be fine,” said Willow. “I’m sure I’ll forget all about the cold when the movie starts.”

“C’mon, you two, up here!” Freja called, sitting in the back row. Her food was spread out around her, bags of chips and candy along with her own soda. Willow carried the popcorn, not that it did anything about the chill in the room, while Alex sipped at the large soda that she was carrying. 

“Guess we can’t pick our own seats,” Alex murmured, her breath tickling Willow’s ear, and Willow giggled as her heart skipped a beat.

“I guess not,” said Willow, and followed Alex up the stairs. Alex sat on one side of Freja while Willow took the seat on the other side, holding the popcorn because she didn’t trust Freja with it. Freja was already starting on her candy, munching on handfuls of Maltesers and M&Ms. Willow noticed that Freja rolled her eyes a little at the seating arrangements, but Freja didn’t say anything about it.

About ten minutes into the superhero movie they were watching, however, Freja suddenly got up and starting shuffling past the other movie-goers in their row.

“Roo, where are you going?” Willow whispered.

“Gotta pee,” Freja whispered back. “But you two have fun without me, I’ve already seen this one anyway.”

With Freja gone, Willow was highly aware of just how close Alex was to her. Her heart was pounding so much that she could barely pay attention to the movie, and her hands were trembling so badly that she nearly dropped her popcorn. When Alex moved to sit beside her, Willow lost all hope of paying attention to the movie.

“I recognise a hint when I see one,” Alex whispered. Willow nodded, glad that her blush wouldn’t be visible in the dark movie theatre. When Alex’s hand brushed hers, though, Willow was very confused and more than a little startled when Alex held her hand. She glanced at Alex, who smiled at her, and then Willow watched the rest of the movie with a big grin on her face, her heart thundering louder than the bass of the movie, or so it seemed to her. She didn’t even notice that Freja hadn’t returned until the credits began to roll and the lights came up a little. Now she looked around, frowning in concern when she couldn’t find her friend.

“Did she slip out on us?” asked Willow. Alex laughed.

“That is the point of that particular hint,” said Alex. “The third wheel leaves to give the couple some time alone and push them together.”

“Oh,” said Willow, feeling incredibly silly now. “That makes sense.” Though she was slightly annoyed at Freja for the sneaky move, she made a mental note to thank her later. Having Alex hold her hand and sit next to her for the duration of the movie was worth a little deception.

“Let’s head out for smoothies, I’m in the mood for one,” said Alex as they left the movie theatre. Willow still couldn’t see Freja outside, but that was fine. She texted her instead, informing her that the two of them were off to grab smoothies. Freja texted back a thumbs-up emoji, and Willow rolled her eyes with a smile. 

“Lead the way,” said Willow. She knew that Alex used to live here, but Willow hadn’t been a native here for a while, so Alex would probably know of a good smoothie place. As it turned out, she did, taking Willow to a shop just down the road from Leonardo’s. The place was decorated with all kinds of fruit, mostly fake, though Willow was pleased to note a bowl of real fruit on the counter. Willow ordered a strawberry smoothie while Alex ordered a blackberry one, smirking slightly as she drank it. Willow blushed, twirling her hair around her finger now.

It was this scene that Freja came back to, and she smiled upon seeing Willow and Alex sitting in the booth smiling at each other as they drank their smoothies.

“How was the movie?” asked Freja after she’d given the pair enough time to make goo-goo eyes at each other. Willow smiled at her friend.

“It was great,” said Willow, talking about more than just the movie. Freja knew, and her eyes seemed to sparkle as she grinned. She was a great wingwoman, among other things. Freja was glad to have her as a friend, even if she could be a handful at times.


End file.
